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Englishtown police chief pleads guilty, barred from public employment
ENGLISHTOWN -- Police chief Peter S. Cooke has resigned after pleading guilty to illegally accessing a law enforcement database for non-law enforcement purposes.
He will enter the state's Pretrial Intervention Program, which provides first-time offenders a path to dismiss all charges if the offenders complete a list of conditions set by the court.
Cooke was arrested on November 1, 2024, according to the complaint.
On May 19, Cooke submitted his resignation through his attorney. It came after a 'Public Employment Forfeiture Order' by Judge Natalie Watson, according to the May 28 Englishtown resolution.
Christopher Swendeman, Monmouth County Public Information Officer, wrote that as part of the order, Cooke is 'forever disqualified from holding any other office or position of honor, trust, or profit under this State or any of its administrative or political subdivisions.'
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Neither Cooke nor his attorney responded to requests for comment.
According to the accusation, Cooke was charged with 'one count of third-degree Computer Criminal Activity.'
On August 24, 2023, he accessed the Spillman Flex Law Enforcement Database 'for a non-law enforcement purpose, contrary to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 2C:20-25(a),' a state law that prohibits such actions.
According to the complaint, Cooke looked up individuals by the initials of 'M.M. and/or M.A.' between February 14, 2019 and August 24, 2023.
In April 2024, Cooke was placed on paid administrative leave.
Between August and September 2024, Cooke agreed to help another person 'M.M.' shoplift in Marlboro, according to the complaint. Stolen groceries were found during the investigation.
Cooke was arrested in November 2024 and Englishtown suspended him without pay.
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In May, he pleaded guilty to the computer crimes. When asked if the shoplifting charges were dropped, the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office did not address those charges, pointing only to the charge of computer crime activity.
Cooke has been involved in a lawsuit filed by former borough clerk Gretchen McCarthy. According to that lawsuit, McCarthy claimed she was fired for raising questions about borough activity – in particular, the police department's finances.
In a response to the complaint, Cooke denied the allegations of unlawful conduct and retaliation.
Olivia Liu is a reporter covering transportation, Red Bank and western Monmouth County. She can be reached at oliu@
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: New Jersey town's police chief pleads guilty, resigns from office
